The invention relates to a method of recovering the sensible heat of a cast strand cast by the continuous casting method, which cast strand is guided through a cooling chamber and brought into direct contact with a coolant, which evaporates partially.
The coolant vapor forming within a cooling chamber known, for example, from German Pat. No. 2,117,621 has been conducted away from the continuous casting plant and the hall surrounding this plant through a stack by means of a ventilator. Although the continuous casting plant is kept free of vapor, extensive mechanical measures are required for sucking off the vapor, which results also in a high consumption of energy. In addition, conducting away the vapor into the open air has a negative effect on the environment. Further, the vapor released to the open air is lost as a coolant, so that the coolant supplied to the cooling chamber must be complemented continuously.
To prevent the envelopment of a continuous casting plant in a cloud of vapor, it is known from Swiss Pat. No. 333,805 to provide a covering at the post-cooling path, on which the vapor condensed precipitates and flows off. Additionally, the vapor, according to Swiss Pat. No. 333,805, also may be sucked off and supplied to a condenser. This known vapor precipitation is not sufficient for modern continuous casting plants, in particular continuous casting plants for slabs, which have high casting speeds, because vapor would enter the hall owing to the large amounts of heat being transformed, enveloping the plant in a cloud of vapor despite the covering. As noted with respect to the above German patent, the sucking-off of the vapor here again requires complex mechanical means and a steady energy consumption.